In June 2024, Kauri opened its doors to all children in Varanasi with an exciting series of workshops by the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru), The Alipore Post, Ita Mehrotra, Stuti Sareen, and Anushree Joshi. Over the course of two weeks, participants created poems, short stories, impromptu skits, stop-motion films, and artworks.
Scroll this showcase of selected creations by all the young artists who participated in the workshops!
ZINES
Created during a workshop with The Alipore Post
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Aditi's zine about her family of friendly monsters
Daras's zine about
her thoughts
Mishka's zine about
loving animals
Pranya's zine about her routine and reminders
Prabir's zine about his imagination
COMICS
Created during a workshop with Ita Mehrotra
Satwik's comic about Cardio Man, who saves Earth from a meteor.
Pranya's comic about Bread Cookie, who escapes breakfast to become rich.
Cherika's comic about a boy who grows flowers instead of hair and saves his planet from a tree-cutting monster.
Aadya's comic is about an alien who visits Earth on his grandfather's spaceship and saves the planet.
STOP MOTION FILMS
Created during a workshop with Anushree Joshi
A collection of eight stop-motion films created by children aged 6 to 13. These young filmmakers dedicated their time to imagining, writing, molding, shooting, and scripting each film.
This video features:
+ Two friends by Pranaya, Alankrita, Arnav and Aditi
+ Don't cut trees by Zayn and Ayushman
+ An apple saves the day by Aarna, Anupriya, Pawni and Shourya
+ The unusual friendship by Daras
+ Bonding over a leaf by Advay
+ A colourful surprise by Pranya, Nysa, Mishka and Satwik
+ The lost cosmic book by Reyaansh
+ Generous clouds by Cherika
First attempts by Zayn, Ayushman, Reyaansh, Advay, Parnika, Arnav, Aarna, Anupriya, Shourya, Mishka, Daras, Cherika, Aadya, Pranya, Pranaya, Pragyan, Alankrita, Pawni
2D animation by Ayushman
SHORT STORIES
Created during a workshop with Stuti Sareen
Read this picture book about a little boy's wish.
Written by 7 and 8 year old writers: Shourya, Aditi, Pragyan, Pranaya and Alankrita
Read this collection of six short stories. Join Detective Joseph Wilson Smith on a train heist or embark on a mission to an island with Agent Max Boxwell. Wander through a maze with a wizard or follow a dwarf's journey as he discovers his unique talents. Be part of a robot rebellion to save the planet or uncover a scientist's secret ingredient to revive nature.
Written by children between the ages of 9 and 14 years: Jayat, Reyaansh, Daras, Cherika, Nysa and Pranya
One of our young writers, Advay, is in the process of writing a novel! His story takes readers on an adventurous journey through mid-20th century England. It revolves around Detective Earl Rubber Kettleton Stroganoff II, who lives in the grand Kettleton Manor and works for the Ministry of Detectives. The plot is rich with intricate details, from the detective’s lifestyle to the mysteries he solves. While we eagerly await the completed work, which promises a captivating blend of detective work, historical settings, and unique characters, Advay has shared an excerpt for us to read.
POEMS
Created during a workshop with Rohini Kejriwal
These poems are presented as they were written, with only minor punctuation additions. All doodles accompanying the poems were created by the children themselves. We have left these doodles blank, inviting readers to color them in as they wish.
We encourage you to make copies and share them with friends and family. This is a simple way to inspire children to write and share their creative expressions.
A collection of poems written by children aged 7 to 14: Advay, Satwik, Shourya, Reyaansh, Jayat, Pranya, Mishka, Nysa, Cherika, Aadya, Zayn, Prabir, Pragyan, Anupriya, Aarna, Pranaya, Ayushman, Alankrita, Aditi
ART GALLERY
We created quilts that tell a story during a workshop with the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP Bengaluru). The best way to learn about the process and the story is by asking their creators!
Quilt by Zayn, Reyaansh, Advay, Jayat and Pranya
Quilt by Daras, Satwik, Ayushman, Aadya and Cherika
We learned about a new way to express our emotions during a workshop with the Museum of Art and Photography (MAP Bengaluru) ~
Created during a workshop with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru) at Kauri (Centre for Art & Storytelling by Mysticeti)
Created during a workshop with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru) at Kauri (Centre for Art & Storytelling by Mysticeti)
Created during a workshop with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru) at Kauri (Centre for Art & Storytelling by Mysticeti)
Created during a workshop with the Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru) at Kauri (Centre for Art & Storytelling by Mysticeti)
We created our own imaginary worlds during a workshop with Ita Mehrotra ~
Aarna's imaginary world includes, among other places, a school, a haunted house, a sea with treasures, and a jungle with many imaginary beings.
Pragyan's imaginary world is made of Lava, where monsters become friends.
We spotted many things in the clouds, created patterns with foraged materials, and tried our hands at cyanotype printing during a workshop with Rohini Kejriwal, The Alipore Post.
MEET THE ORGANISERS
Mysticeti is a supportive community for artists of diverse backgrounds and ages. We design initiatives that nurture the creative potential of individuals and provide a platform for showcasing their works.
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Kenzen School is an independent primary school in Varanasi that focuses on nurturing each child's unique potential. It works with a small group of learners, and fosters a culture that celebrates individual strengths and talents.
MEET THE FACILITATORS
Stuti Sareen is an educator, storyteller, and researcher. She designs initiatives that provide a nurturing space for aspiring artists of all ages to explore their interests and showcase their creations. In 2021, she founded Mysticeti Magazine, followed by Kauri in 2023. Stuti also collaborates with primary schools to design modules for social-emotional learning (SEL) through storytelling and art. Additionally, she has consulted on storytelling and research projects for various social development initiatives. Her works have been featured by Homegrown, The Hindu, UNICEF among others.
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Rohini Kejriwal is a writer, poet and a curator from Bangalore. She runs The Alipore Post, a newsletter that celebrates poetry, art and creative expression. Her workshops hope to create playful spaces for children to explore art and poetry, through simple practices that break from the traditional methods of writing poetry.
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Ita Mehrotra is the author of the highly acclaimed Shaheen Bagh: A Graphic Recollection (Yoda Press, 2021), which was a runner up for Illustrated Book of the Year at the Publishing Next Industry Awards, 2021, and has been nominated for the Laadli Media Awards, 2022. She also leads the community based arts programmes at Artreach across India.
The Museum of Art & Photography (MAP Bengaluru) is one of India’s first major public museums of South Asian visual culture. MAP’s collection includes more than 60,000 works predominantly from South Asian: Modern and Contemporary Art, Living Traditions, Textiles, Craft and Design, Popular Culture, Pre-modern Art and Photography, dating from the tenth century to contemporary times. MAP’s mission is to take art and culture to the heart of the community, making it accessible to diverse audiences, and to create a museum-going culture that encourages people to experience art and heritage in new ways. One of MAP’s core initiatives is education which looks to explore how art can be a catalyst for learning as well as thinking. Since 2016, even while the museum’s physical space was being built, MAP has been carrying out its mission by actively reaching out to the local community through a variety of programmes and projects.
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Anushree Joshi is an alumna of National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad. She is a sketch note artist, illustrator and product designer. Her works have been featured by Science Gallery and Resilient Cities Network among others.